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<\/a>(Tommy Johnson Jr (far lane) topped Ron Capps in the 8th all DSR final round of the season – so far!)<\/p><\/div>\n
The Dodge NHRA Nationals trophy was the 14th of Johnson’s career in his 38th final round, and it was his second win of the season in his fifth final round of the year. Johnson’s first nitro trophy came in Top Fuel in 1993, but his very first Funny Car victory was at Maple Grove Raceway \u2013 and it also came with a final-round defeat of Capps.<\/p>\n
In this season’s final round, Johnson used a cool .036-second reaction time to take the lead and finished the job with a brisk 3.895-second pass at a large 330.63 mph in his Mopar Dodge Charger. Capps left the starting line with a .051 and raced to a 3.911\/324.12.<\/p>\n
On the way to the final, Johnson knocked out Cruz Pedregon, 3.909\/327.27 to 4.159\/257.58, Mike Smith with a 4.025\/325.37 to 5.608\/129.58, and then DSR teammate Jack Beckman in a very close match with a remarkable .029 reaction and 3.892\/330.63 that edged his opponent’s .050 start and 3.899\/327.51.<\/p>\n
“It was a tough track because the conditions were so good,” said Johnson. “The track is so tight, you have to be perfect or it doesn’t make it. You get to the semifinals and you think, man this is going to be tough. I know what those guys have for equipment and parts. I know them too well. But if you’re going to win it, you have to go through the best. We pulled into the waterbox for the semis and I thought, oh I bet the boss is happy. This is good, this is what we planned to do. We all work together really well. We all share information, and if you ask the right question, they will tell you. If you’re struggling, they’ll be there to help you. That’s all great until you get to the semifinals and then it’s every team for themselves. Nobody is cutting you any slack. I knew it was going to be tough. I watched all of them run second round and they were really good \u2013 but we had to pedal it. I knew we were behind a little bit, but I had faith in the guys. I knew we got too conservative in the second round, and that’s what bit us \u2013 but I knew they wouldn’t be in the semifinals, so I felt pretty confident.”<\/p>\n
<\/a>(Enroute to his 14th career win – TJ recorded his first career +330 mph run)<\/p><\/div>\n
For Johnson, who is led by crew chief John Collins and assistant crew chief Rip Reynolds, the victory was even more satisfying after falling just short at the facility in 2014 \u2013 the first season he raced with the Make-A-Wish team funded by Terry Chandler. The fact that it came with positive points implications at this late date in the season certainly didn’t hurt.<\/p>\n
“You want to have a strong start, and we knew that going into Charlotte [the first race of the playoffs],” said Johnson. “We needed a strong start to the Countdown. We started 7th in points, unfortunately, and would have liked to have started a little bit higher. But we went from seventh to fourth. A runner-up is good, and we went to St. Louis and went to another final round, and I said I’d be happy with four more runner-ups. If we could do that the rest of the way, I figured we could win the championship. But when you look in the other lane in the final like we did here, and you’ve got Capps, who’s leading it, it’s a must-win. You can’t have another runner-up. You have to gain some ground. I’m really happy. I couldn’t be any happier than this start to the Countdown. That’s getting it done, and we have to keep doing it to get it done. I said it at the other end, neither one of us has won the championship, and I think you can see how bad we both want it. It’s going to be a fight, I can tell that right now. It’s not going to be easy, but if we can continue this consistency, we’ll be alright. ”<\/p>\n
The final round was the ninth of the year for Capps \u2013 the second-winningest Funny Car driver of all time \u2013 and the 99th of his career as a nitro driver. It also marked the third time in which he was runner-up in Reading.<\/p>\n
<\/a>(For points leader Ron Capps — his final round appearance was the 99th of his career)<\/p><\/div>\n
Beckman, who wheels the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger out of the DSR camp, stayed No. 3 in the points and made an outstanding 3.850-second pass at 332.26 mph in the second round to break the Maple Grove Raceway track record for elapsed time and clock one of the fastest speeds of the weekend.<\/p>\n
<\/a>(Matt Hagan roared to an amazing 333.99 mph – which was top speed of the event overall!)<\/p><\/div>\n
Matt Hagan, driver of the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R\/T, came into the event in the No. 6 position in the Funny Car points but made much progress over the course of the weekend. After qualifying No. 1 in his charging Mopar, Hagan won a first-round match with Jim Campbell and then sent John Bojec home with the second-quickest pass of the round paired with a big 332.75 mph speed. In the semifinals, Hagan fell to Capps \u2013 but only just barely. Capps got a starting line advantage and used it to turn Hagan away on a small holeshot. Both lanes reflected a 3.893 on the scoreboard, and Hagan had a very fast 333.58 speed that nearly matched his track-record setting 333.99 from qualifying. Hagan leaves Maple Grove Raceway No. 4 in the points.<\/p>\n